Magnet schools are best option

As I read Mayor Karl Dean's Feb. 23 op-ed, "Struggling students need better schools now," I thought the answer to improving our schools for all children was in his piece. He said Metro Nashville Public Schools currently have SAT and ACT scores too low to get into college.

If it weren't for the magnet schools, the scores would be even lower. Why can't we have more magnet schools? Parents and students crowd into auditoriums waiting to see if their number will be drawn. Charters are unproven and drain public tax dollars from advancing all our children. They aren't held accountable until a child had been there for at least a year. Many will have lost a year's worth of learning.